What is Bulk Modulus, and When is it Important?

Designers should consider the bulk modulus of a hydraulic fluid if position,

response time, and stability are critical in the system.

Most will agree that performance requirements for hydraulic control systems
are becoming increasingly more stringent. One of the functional properties
of fluids that designers frequently overlook is its compressibility or, as it is
more often called, its bulk modulus. Many laboratory tests have been
conducted to measure the bulk moduli of various fluids because it can affect
the performance of a system.
What is Bulk Modulus?

Figure 1. Fluid volume decreases with increasing pressure. The secant bulk modulus is
also called the "average" modulus, and the tangent bulk modulus is also called the true
modulus.
Most substances diminish in volume when exposed to a uniform, externally
applied pressure. A typical plot of volume vs. pressure is shown in Figure 1.
The curve shows that:

V = f (P,V0, k)

where:

k = compressibility (usually negative), in.2/lb

P = pressure, psi

V0 = initial volume, in.3

The term bulk modulus usually means the reciprocal of compressibility and
defines the slope of the curve in Figure 1. A steep slope signifies a stiff, only
slightly compressible fluid one with a high bulk modulus. A flat slope
signifies a fairly compressible fluid one with a low bulk modulus.

Defining Bulk Modulus

Because the plot in Figure 1 is not a straight line, the slope changes from
point to point. There are two common ways of defining the slope or bulk
modulus:

True or tangent bulk modulus at a point. Placing a straight edge tangent to

the curve at a specific point yields the tangent bulk modulus. It is written (as
a derivative) as:
Br = dPV/dV.

Average or secant bulk modulus is the slope of a line between any two points
of the curve. That is:

Bs = (P2 P1)V0/(V1-V2), or Bs = PV0/V.

Because a line drawn between any two points appears as a chord of an arc, it
is a secant, hence, the name secant bulk modulus.

Before giving some typical values of fluid bulk moduli, we must take one
more variable into consideration: temperature.

Temperature and Bulk Modulus

Temperature is important because as a fluid is compressed, its temperature

rises. As the temperature rises, the fluid tends to expand, which, in turn,
creates additional pressure. There are two ways of taking temperature into
consideration:
 compress the fluid very slowly so that heat generated can dissipate. This
is called isothermal (constant temperature) bulk modulus.

Bulk modulus of Brayco 745 hydraulic fluid at 3000 psi varies with temperature and air content

. compress the fluid rapidly and measure the pressure even though it results
from both compression and thermal expansion. This is called adiabatic (no
beat lost) bulk modulus. Most hydraulic applications are described by the
latter. Therefore, most of the bulk moduli discussed in this article are
adiabatic. Table 1 shows some typical values for various fluids.

After comparing the values of bulk moduli in Table 2 for high temperature
to those for room temperature, the importance of keeping fluid temperature
as low as possible is readily seen.

Predicting bulk modulus of air-liquid mixtures

The values in Table 2 are the effective bulk modulus for several air-oil
mixtures. These were determined by test, as described below. Using these
test results, a convenient empirical equation was developed to predict
(without tests) the effective bulk moduli of other air-oil mixtures:
1/Be = 1/B + Va / (Vt Ba)
where:
Be is the effective bulk modulus.
B is the bulk modulus of the fluid.
Va is the volume of air.
Vt is the volume of air-fluid volume.
Ba is the bulk modulus of air.

A thick walled, stainless steel welded cylinder with pipe thread ports was
connected to long-engagement needle valves having small-area nylon seats,
Figure 2. The cylinder was pressurized with a hand pump. The pressurized
fluid was then allowed to expand rapidly into a precision glass manometer
tube. The manometer measured the amount of fluid required to pressurize
the cylinder.

While pressurized, the cylinder was measured to determine its radial and
longitudinal deflection at various pressures. Strength-of-material equations
(Timoshenko's) were then used to determine internal deflections, thus
obtaining tare values of volume which were subtracted from respective
manometer readings. Air-oil mixtures with entrained or entrapped air from
0.125% to 1.57% were measured. In addition, fluid with no entrained or
entrapped air was measured. The dissolved air content of the air-oil mixtures
(which has no effect on bulk modulus values) was kept below 2%.

Effect of Air on Bulk Modulus

Designers should be cautious before using published bulk modulus values.

The values usually are determined by laboratory methods, which take special
precautions to de-gas the fluid before it is trapped and compressed.
Figure 2. Thick-walled, stainless steel test cylinder was used to measure bulk modulus
accurately. Cylinder volume was 9.45 cu in.

To illustrate the variations that can occur, we measured adiabatic volume

changes versus pressure in a thick walled, stainless steel cylinder, Figure 2.
Both degassed and aerated fluids were used. Figure 3 illustrates the curves
that resulted. They indicate that a trapped quantity of air will offset the
curves by a value about equal to the volume of air present.
 Figure 3. Air entrained in the fluid ( 0.74 and 0.148 cu in. ) reduces the bulk modulus of the fluid.

As might be deduced intuitively, the straight-line part of the curves does not
begin until the air volume entrained in the fluid is compressed. Once the air
is compressed, the slope of all the curves is the same. If measured from 0
psig, it can be seen that adiabatic (secant) bulk modulus values will differ
considerably with varying air content. This is seen in the values for adiabatic
bulk modules in Table 2. (The test values observed were adjusted for
differential volumes resulting from cylinder expansion, then values of bulk
moduli were computed.)
Volume Lost in Pumps and Actuators

Figure 4. Fluids with higher values of bulk modulus have less volume reduction.

The output of a pump, or the positional relationship of master and slave

actuators, varies with the bulk modulus of the fluid used. Figure 4
illustrates the percentage volume lost vs. pressure and bulk modulus. In the
case of a pump, the percentage volume loss in the output is seen as loss of
horsepower. For master-slave actuators, the volume loss is seen as loss of
stroke of the slave.

The equation used in preparing Figure 4 is:

V/V0 100% = 100 P/ B

Stopping a Moving Load

Figure 5. Work absorbed (wasted) because of fluid compressibility. Shaded area, when multiplied by
piston area, equals work absorbed.

If a cylinder moves a load at a uniform velocity, (constant flow to the

cylinder), the load has momentum that must be absorbed by the fluid and
the system when a valve flow suddenly closes. If the valve is located
downstream, fluid pressure will rise from some nominal value to some peak
pressure as energy is absorbed, Figure 5. Assuming rigid cylinder and lines
and a linear rise in pressure, the fluid's bulk modulus will determine peak
pressure. The area under the curve, when multiplied by ram area represents
work:
W=FS
W = ( P A) s

The work done (energy absorbed) equals the kinetic energy, EK , of the
moving load, that is:

W = EK = ( W/g) v2

Figure 6. Fluids with higher values of bulk modulus have less energy absorption and less piston
overshoot (better positioning accuracy).

Where :
W = work
F = force applied to the load.
s = distance travelled.
EK = kinetic energy.
g = gravity constant.

To convert work from in.-lb to ft-lb:

Work (ft-lb) = 1/24 P (psi) A s

Because A s = V = P V0/B, then EK = (P)2 V0 /24B.

Where V0 = volume trapped in actuator and lines.

Figure 6 illustrates peak pressure versus energy (ft-lb) per in.3 of fluid for
various bulk moduli. It can be seen that for a specific maximum pressure, the
stiffer the fluid, the less energy absorbed and the less overshoot. Increasing
actuator volume increases its energy absorption and its overshoot.

Fast load reversals

Because most fluids are compressible, the fluid in an actuator must first be
compressed before a cylinders piston will move a load. In other words, an
amount of fluid equal to the compressed volume must be added to an
actuator before any useful work can be done. Because this process does not
do useful work, it is lost work,
 Figure 7. Power lost at 3000 psi for 1 cu-in. of cylinder volume.

WL = F s = P+ AP si = P A s
Where:
P+ = pressure increase.
AP = piston area.
si = increment of stroke.
Therefore: WL = P V
But V = P V0/B, so: WL = P2 B V0
To obtain lost power, divide by time, t:
WL = P2 V0 /(B t 6600)
Because power becomes significant in higher pressure ranges, let us examine
a typical 3000-psig system, that is, P = 3000 psi.

PL =1363 V0/(B t)

Where: PL = lost horsepower, hp

Figure 8. Power lost at 3000 psi for 1 in. 2 of piston area and a 10-in. stroke, during short time
intervals.

Figure 7 shows a plot of lost power versus time for 1 in.3 of actuator volume
for various bulk moduli. Power loss increases with actuator size, and
response time decreases. Figure 8 illustrates lost power versus response
rate for various bulk moduli.
The loss in power may look relatively small until we consider an average
actuator. If we assume a bulk modulus of 200,000 psi, a response rate of
100 Hz, and a stroke of 10 in., the loss is 6.75 hp per in.2 of ram area.
Figure 9 relates power loss to total system power available. For example, a
3000-psi, 3.8-gpm system that can supply 6.75 hp cannot move a load at
100 Hz with a 1-in.2-ram because all the power would be used for
compressing the fluid.

Resonance of Hydraulic Systems

The natural frequency of a spring-mass combination is:

f = (1/2) (kg/W)1/2

Where:
f = frequency, Hz.
W = weight, lb.
k = spring rate, lb/in.

To equate this to a hydraulic system, we need only substitute bulk modulus

for spring rate. Thus, a low modulus also lowers the natural frequency of a
system. For example, if 1% air content changes the bulk modulus of a fluid
by 50%, its natural frequency decreases by 30%. This greatly reduces the
stability of the system.
Why Bulk Modulus is Important

Figure 9. Minimum power required for driving a system (moving an actuator) at 100 Hz.

From the preceding discussion, it should be clear that the absolute value of
the bulk modulus of a fluid seriously affects system performance in relation
to position, power level, response time, and stability.
Two factors that figure prominently in the control of bulk modulus are fluid
temperature and entrained air content. For example, Table 2 shows that
raising the temperature of Brayco 745 hydraulic fluid by 100 F alone
reduces its bulk modulus to 61% of its room-temperature value. Table 2 also
indicates that introducing 1% air by volume reduces the bulk modulus to
55% of its room-temperature value. If these two conditions occur
simultaneously, the net effect is to reduce the bulk modulus by 67%.
In summary, in view of today's requirements for increased horsepower and
response time, it behoves a designer to pay more attention to bulk modulus
than ever before.